Bear Swamp Offers Undisturbed Wildlife Newspaper clipping

Bear Swamp offers
undisturbed wildlife
CNY
BEAR, FROM PAGE AA-J
sparrows, more common in the
Adirondack? than Central New
York, nest at Bear Swamp, and
there are plans to release otter
here.
There are, however, no bear.
6'There are two stories, and I
don't know which is right,"
Major says of the swamp's name.
"It was called bear because once
there were bear there, or bare because there's nothing there."
The difference in elevation
between Skaneateles and Bear
Swamp*, as much as 800 feet in
places, makes a tremendous difference in the environment, says
Bill Hecht, a Skaneateles resident
who has led hikes through Bear
Swamp.
"The soil is acidic, the cold is
bitter," he says.
Trees once anchored the soil,
but when farmers began clearing
the land, the already thin soil
eroded and rain washed off.
Some landowners saw their wells
dry up.
"It was poor land, poor soil,"
Major says. "But that's all they
could afford. It was better than
starving in Ireland, obviously."
Many Bear Swamp farmers
raised sheep, Hecht said, because
it was difficult to get dairy products to market in the winter.
4 'That was a long ways from
anything in those days. It still
is," he says. "It's a long, cold
winter."
Summer brought it miseries,
too: The mosquitoes and horseflies at Bear Swamp can be
wicked, Davison says.
Once the snow melts, a few
traces of Bear Swamp's history
reappear: stone foundations,
stone hedgerows that remind
Major of the ones in Ireland,
flowers and trees planted by the
If you go,..
Where: Bear Swamp State Forest,
town of Sempronius, Cayuga
County.
Directions: From Syracuse, take
Route 690 west to Route 695 to
Route 5. Take Route 321 to
Skaneateles. In the village of
Skaneateles, go west on Route 20
to Route 41 A. Follow Route 41A
south about 15 miles. Watch for
an evergreen forest and a series
of curves in the road. The Colonial
Lodge on your left is a good
landmark. The west entrance to
the forest is just off Route 41 A,
behind the lodge.
Trail maps: Trail maps are in a
wooden box at the west entrance
and in a mailbox at the south
entry to the forest, about a
quarter of a mile north along the
Bear Swamp Road from its
intersection with Iowa Road. If
you want to be sure of having a
map, call the Department of
Environmental Conservation office
in Cortland at (607) 753-3095, Ext.
217, and ask to have one sent to
you.
Precautions: Bear Swamp is a
state forest, not a park, so there
are no rangers, rest rooms,
shelters or other facilities. Some
private land is interspersed with
the state land, so visitors need to
be mindful of property lines and
respectful of private property.
Admission, hours: No fees are
charged, and anyone can visit the
forest any time.
Bear Swamp settlers to make
their homes more pleasant. The
shiny deep-green leaves of vinca
creep along the ground, and day-
lilies bloom in the summer.
Gnarled trees in overgrown orchards still bear apples, but they
provide food for wildlife now.
4'There's still lilac trees that
bloom out there in the spring,"
Stephen D. Cannerelli / Staff photographer
THIS MILE-LONG road leads down to Bear Swamp. New-fallen
snow glistens off the evergreens at the state forest.
Davison says as he drives along
Ridge Road. "You see daffodils
growing out here all the time."
As often as he travels to Bear
Swamp, Davison is fascinated by
the notion that people once lived
here.
"Except for the hole in the
ground, you wouldn't think anybody ever lived here," he says.
"It kind of points out how insig
nificant we are."
The Sunday Driver likes to take his or her
own sweet time traveling around
Central New York, always on the •
lookout for a good place to stop. If you
know of a place The Sunday Driver
should check out, drop us a line. Write
to CNY in care of The Syracuse
Newspapers, P.O. Box 4915, Syracuse
13221, send e-mail to
features@syracuse.com or fax us at
470-2111.

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Bear Swamp offers
undisturbed wildlife
CNY
BEAR, FROM PAGE AA-J
sparrows, more common in the
Adirondack? than Central New
York, nest at Bear Swamp, and
there are plans to release otter
here.
There are, however, no bear.
6'There are two stories, and I
don't know which is right,"
Major says of the swamp's name.
"It was called bear because once
there were bear there, or bare because there's nothing there."
The difference in elevation
between Skaneateles and Bear
Swamp*, as much as 800 feet in
places, makes a tremendous difference in the environment, says
Bill Hecht, a Skaneateles resident
who has led hikes through Bear
Swamp.
"The soil is acidic, the cold is
bitter," he says.
Trees once anchored the soil,
but when farmers began clearing
the land, the already thin soil
eroded and rain washed off.
Some landowners saw their wells
dry up.
"It was poor land, poor soil,"
Major says. "But that's all they
could afford. It was better than
starving in Ireland, obviously."
Many Bear Swamp farmers
raised sheep, Hecht said, because
it was difficult to get dairy products to market in the winter.
4 'That was a long ways from
anything in those days. It still
is," he says. "It's a long, cold
winter."
Summer brought it miseries,
too: The mosquitoes and horseflies at Bear Swamp can be
wicked, Davison says.
Once the snow melts, a few
traces of Bear Swamp's history
reappear: stone foundations,
stone hedgerows that remind
Major of the ones in Ireland,
flowers and trees planted by the
If you go,..
Where: Bear Swamp State Forest,
town of Sempronius, Cayuga
County.
Directions: From Syracuse, take
Route 690 west to Route 695 to
Route 5. Take Route 321 to
Skaneateles. In the village of
Skaneateles, go west on Route 20
to Route 41 A. Follow Route 41A
south about 15 miles. Watch for
an evergreen forest and a series
of curves in the road. The Colonial
Lodge on your left is a good
landmark. The west entrance to
the forest is just off Route 41 A,
behind the lodge.
Trail maps: Trail maps are in a
wooden box at the west entrance
and in a mailbox at the south
entry to the forest, about a
quarter of a mile north along the
Bear Swamp Road from its
intersection with Iowa Road. If
you want to be sure of having a
map, call the Department of
Environmental Conservation office
in Cortland at (607) 753-3095, Ext.
217, and ask to have one sent to
you.
Precautions: Bear Swamp is a
state forest, not a park, so there
are no rangers, rest rooms,
shelters or other facilities. Some
private land is interspersed with
the state land, so visitors need to
be mindful of property lines and
respectful of private property.
Admission, hours: No fees are
charged, and anyone can visit the
forest any time.
Bear Swamp settlers to make
their homes more pleasant. The
shiny deep-green leaves of vinca
creep along the ground, and day-
lilies bloom in the summer.
Gnarled trees in overgrown orchards still bear apples, but they
provide food for wildlife now.
4'There's still lilac trees that
bloom out there in the spring,"
Stephen D. Cannerelli / Staff photographer
THIS MILE-LONG road leads down to Bear Swamp. New-fallen
snow glistens off the evergreens at the state forest.
Davison says as he drives along
Ridge Road. "You see daffodils
growing out here all the time."
As often as he travels to Bear
Swamp, Davison is fascinated by
the notion that people once lived
here.
"Except for the hole in the
ground, you wouldn't think anybody ever lived here," he says.
"It kind of points out how insig
nificant we are."
The Sunday Driver likes to take his or her
own sweet time traveling around
Central New York, always on the •
lookout for a good place to stop. If you
know of a place The Sunday Driver
should check out, drop us a line. Write
to CNY in care of The Syracuse
Newspapers, P.O. Box 4915, Syracuse
13221, send e-mail to
features@syracuse.com or fax us at
470-2111.